During June 2006, the patrol and support vessel Pelikaan entered service with the Royal Netherlands Navy. Designed to serve as support ship in the Netherlands Antilles, the Pelikaan was built at Damen Shipyards in Galati, Romania, and replaces an older ship with the same name. The vessel is capable of providing disaster relief assistance as well as supporting marine assault operations and transporting troops and equipment. Displacing roughly 1,400-tons. the Pelikaan is 65.4 meters long, has a top speed of 15 knots, and can cruise at 12.5 knots for 4,500 nautical miles. Powered by two Caterpillar engines with a bow-thruster, the ship carries a six-meter rigid inflatable boat on deck and will likely be armed with two 12.7-millimeter machine guns. The ship has accommodations for 14 crewmembers and 63 additional troops or passengers.
The fourth and final Hamina (Rauma 2000)-class guided-missile patrol boat was delivered to the Finnish Navy on 19 June 2006. Built by Aker Shipyard in Rauma, the Pori was launched last year and joins sisters Hamina, Tornio (shown here), and Hanko, which entered service between 1998 and 2005. Pori and her sister ships measure 51 meters long and displace up to 268 tons when fully loaded. The two newest units of the class were ordered in 2003, following the decision to decommission Finland's prototype hovercraft Tuuli. The two older units of the class, Hamina and Tornio, recently completed modernization. All four boats can now carry the South African Denel-Kentron Umkhonto infrared point-defense vertical-launched surface-to-air missile system. The new missiles, which began delivery in 2006, replace the older Sako SAM system. Other ongoing modernizations in the Finnish fleet include upgrades to the two Hameenmaa-class mine-layers, Hameenmaa and Uusimaa, to be completed by Aker in 2007.
The U.S. Navy and seven other navies conducted training off Hawaiian waters during June as part of RIMPAC 2006, the world's largest biennial maritime exercise. This most recent RIMPAC exercise involved forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Peru, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The seventh Japanese Oyashio-class submarine, Kuroshio, shown here at Pearl Harbor, was one of several submarines taking part in the exercise. In March 2006, the newest member of the class, Yaeshio, entered service with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. Two additional units of the 81.7-meter long type are expected in service during 2007 and 2008, making a total of 11 Oyashio-class submarines. A new type of attack submarine, built in Japan and fitted with air independent propulsion systems, is expected in Japanese service around 2010.